Before a Transition Pasadena steering meeting this past Fall, I came outside looking for one of my cats just in time to see him playing with something he seemed very interested in. Unfortunately, it was a hummingbird.

Humane Pest Control or Compassionate Conversation?

I was at a client’s home recently in Sherman Oaks, California. They told me about the gopher who had been eating the roots of their plants and creating little sink holes all over their yard. During our site visit, I noted the telltale signs of a landscape out of balance. I knew it would be my job to teach them how to fix their gopher problem by re-balancing their landscape. While we talked, the gopher responsible came out of a hole at the base of an umbrella plant. He looked directly at us while proceeding to remove three umbrella plant stalks and carry them backwards into his hole. I pointed this out to my client, and we laughed at his audacity.

Being that I’m a student of inter-species communication and believe that animals are sentient, I spoke to the wide-eyed little performance artist. I said, “I know you need to survive here just as much as the people who live in that house there, and so don’t worry, I’m going to include you in a solution that works for everyone here.”